Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Well after a marathon session of counting all the stock in the store we are FINISHED INVENTORY for another year. Thank you to the many fingers and toes that helped to get this done. You can just imagine the time it takes to count all the product at the Turtle (just think about the cardstock wall and the embellishment wall for starters!!!!) Thanks to Turtlebob's new program we were happy to see that we were 100% done about midnight last night. Now we can start planning for all the new product that is coming in. A few new goodies arrived yesterday, but have not hit the shelves yet for obvious reasons. I did peak and saw a few things from the Imaginisce Christmas and Halloween lines in the pile. I also saw some great camping papers from Moxie. Teresa is already planning the layout to showcase her boys as mosquito bait on a recent re-enactment trip!!! I think I also some gorgeous baubly type things in some little bottles from Robins Nest. There might have been other stuff in the pile, but I think at that point I got sent back to counting brads and couldn't peak anymore, but we will keep you posted!!!

Bring it with you to the store on Saturday, July 26th and get 30% Off all of the regular priced merchandise you can fit inside it!!(Doodlebug and QK Silhouette are excluded) Don't be fooled, that bag holds A LOT of stuff!! If you don't have one of these totes yet, you can get one for only $4.99! Use them on every trip to the Turtle to save on plastic bags or use them to go to classes and crops!

The rules are simple, you must have a tote bag and the merchandise must fit inside the bag to qualify. One bag per person.

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

to the crop room when Hannah opened the suitcases yesterday afternoon. You wouldn't know it to see the explosion of stuff on the two tables but everything has been set back to right. They were working on it when I left last night. I've started gathering images for new product that should start arriving as soon as 2 weeks from now. Didn't we just finish getting stuff from CHA Winter? Now we start to look forward to all the new stuff. The new Little Yellow Bicycle Lines are so CUTE, as are the two Imaginisce lines that will be coming. For some reason everyone is into Halloween this year and we have some cute Halloween stuff coming for your layouts - of adults, pets or kids. There will be product from companies we have in the store now and from several new companies.

Well, back to work but I thought I would add a bit of an update. A bright spot in this dark day.

Sunday, July 20, 2008

CHA Summer 2008 has officially ended, and Lori and I are toast as she likes to say! WOW what a week! We've walked several miles, visited hundreds of vendors, ordered tons of new product (and some well loved stand-bys) and had loads of fun!

I am interviewing Lori right now to get a low down on her favorites and what most excited her. Bev, you may want to sit down before you continue reading....

What most excited Lori?? New Tim Holtz stamps by Stamper's Anonymous and Inkadinkadoo stamps. She is also pretty excited to have more ideas of how to use acrylic and acrylic albums... aka watch for a cool class coming soon!

What most excited me?? The awesome new die storage system from QuicKutz! Wahoooo it holds ALL of their types of dies! ohh and OWLS!! oooh I am so loving all the Owl Stuff!!!

What was my favorite?? So much to choose from!! But I think it might just be a new paper company we literally stumbled upon in the aisles... Black Market Paper Society. YUM! (sorry I can't find a link)

Anywhoooo... as you can see we have LOTS of new stuff coming your way! We have lots of samples to show you and lots of cool things to teach you. We have been talking about exciting classes that we want to offer and some fun events we want to host, so keep watching for announcements about what is happening in the pond.

So now that we have told you what we are excited about... how about you leave us some comments to tell us what new products YOU are excited about. Leave us a comment between now and Friday (July 25th) and we will choose TWO people to win a copy of the latest issue of Memory Makers Magazine!

Friday, July 18, 2008

Greetings from the Windy City!!! Hannah and I are taking a few minutes out to check in on the forum and emails. The show opened today and we are swimming in ideas, visions of products and classes. There are lots of beautiful papers coming your way. There are lots of not so beautiful papers as well, so we are needing to sift through catalogues and make some decisions. It is always fun and overwhelming to see all the new products. We were lucky enough to get lots of paper samples today, so we will be creating a "COMING SOON" wall in the store when we get back.

We had a chance to see some of the city on this trip. Took the L train to downtown, walked some of the Magnificent Mile, and visited Navy Pier. Navy Pier was by far my favourite, even though Hannah wouldn't ride the ferris wheel. It was a fun day - although it was REALLY hot.

I am being yanked from my chair so we can go back to the room and look through catalogues and make some plans. We have classes at 7:00 in the morning. No rest for the wicked!!!!

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

so now I can tell you about what Bev and I are doing while they are gone. From Thursday to Sunday, all Piggy Tales, Fancy Pants, 7 Gypsies, Dream Street and SEI are 30% off. It's a good combination of bold colour and soft colour - something for everyone. Remember we are open until 8 on Thursday and Friday nights, too, so you have plenty of time to shop.

We also have a Pizza Crop happening on Friday night. Come get creative with some of your friends in our great air conditioned crop room. The crop goes until midnight or later, so come play.

I better get back to getting things ready for the sale. So much to do!!

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

to order the QuicKutz Squeeze tool at the remarkable price of $29.99. Yes, you read it right! Only $29.99. They're practically FREE!! This tool comes with either basic shapes (purple tool) or the mini font Moxie (pink tool) or Metro (black tool). If we have your order by midnight tonight (it may require an e-mail to us) you can get it for this low, low price. Otherwise, the price goes back to normal with the pumpkins at the stroke of midnight.

That's not the only thing that happens tomorrow. Hannah and Lori are winging it off to Chicago to attend CHA. Who knows what trouble Bev and I can stir up around here while they are gone. I mean, there has to be room for all the new stuff they are going to be ordering, right? Hannah won't have a chance to read this so I should be safe. If not, oh well...

Better get back to work on the website. We have a great selection of QK dies that need to be marked down ... not all of them but there is a good list for great prices!

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Have you seen the July QuicKutz release??? Oooooh they are so cute! These awesome animal dies are now available in 2x2 and 4x4 sizes! These are perfect for your summer trips to the Zoo or African Lion Safari! So awesome!

They also have 2 new goosebumpz - one zebra texture and one giraffe texture. Even cooler than these two awesome textures is their super awesome promotional price!! Get the 2x2 goosebumpz for only $4.99 and the 4x4 goosebumpz for only $9.99! This is a special promotion for these two new textures only during July!

Just a reminder that the $29.99 Squeeze Promotion ENDS on July 15th! If you haven't gotten one yet, don't wait any longer! This is the best deal we have EVER been able to offer on the squeeze tool (and it comes with a font or shapes!!). We do have a new supply just in and they are already half sold out again!

We are so excited about this new release and we can't wait to see the rest of the July release at CHA! Hope to see you this weekend at the QuicKutz Anonymous Class! Are you a member yet??

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

We are already into the second week of summer holidays and I haven't started my petition for year-round schooling so things are going well!!! I hope that everyone is having some down time, some sunshine and some chances to just be a kid again time. In the midst of the towels and the sunscreen, picnics and popsicles, I am sure there are lots of photos being taken and memories being made. There are lots of great new products in the store to help you preserve those memories. From the rainbow wall of Doodlebug, to the fabulous Share and Tell system from Pebbles (which really takes the "I don't have time to scrapbook" excuse out of your vocabulary) there are lots of great things to see.

Next week Hannah and I are off to CHA and we will be looking to bring in some more new goodies to enhance your pages and some new class ideas to spark your creativity as well. We are on the lookout for the sneak peaks and can't wait to see what the designers have planned for the fall and winter.

If you are a QA member - check the forum or your email for the list of materials needed for this weeks class. I promise it isn't a marathon - this time!!!!!!!!

There are some classes planned for later this month as well - a card class and our first "Mom and Me class" so be sure to check out the last newsletter for those details. Also don't forget the draw we are doing for free gas.....because it is still worth the drive to St Jacob's!!!

Friday, July 4, 2008

Doodlebug is now on our site. We have it on good authority that we aren't the only ones who like it. Many people have been in to see our Doodlebug Wall of Colour. It is quite impressive. From the website you can get some idea of what it looks like, but that doesn't compare at all to what it looks like in real life. Lori is going to be back here in a few short hours to greet all who come to visit, or who come to crop. Yes, there is a crop all day tomorrow. Come spend some time with your photos and supplies, and a couple of fellow enthusiasts, creating your masterpieces.

While you are here you can take a look at the new QuicKutz dies. The June dies are finally here. The July ones should be arriving shortly. We also have some new Just the Edge from Bazzill and have restocked some of the more popular colours of cardstock.

Thursday, July 3, 2008

... in all its wonderful, bright, colourful forms! Hannah arrived yesterday morning with 20 boxes for us - 10 of which were Doodlebug - and we worked at getting a good amount of it ready yesterday. The wall is now so colourful!! And so many choices for each line ... flock, glitter, jewels, flowers, ribbons ... the list goes on and on. Ohhh, the possibilities we were coming up with for that luscious velvet paper. And I came home sparkling from the glitter transfer from the "Daydream" paper. I'll be working on it later today to get all the stuff online for your drooling and shopping, but keep in mind that you can't get the full effect from the flat images - you really need to see and touch it to believe it. Remember, too, that you have the chance to win a pretty pink Doodlebug bag. For every $20 you spend on Doodlebug products between Thursday, July 3rd and Saturday, July 12th, you will get a ballot for a chance to win the bag pictured in our last newsletter!

The Record is running it's annual Reader's Choice Awards. This week they are looking for nominations in various categories, including favourite craft store. The form can be completed once for each e-mail address.

We still have some space available at our crop tomorrow night, and for the Pizza Crop on Saturday as well. Each crop costs $10 and includes pizza and drinks. Bring your stuff (or shop for some of the wonderful new product we have now) and get more of those pictures taken care of.

More Squeeze tools should be arriving this weekend. The special price of $29.99 will be ending on July 15, so if you haven't taken the leap yet this might be a good time to do it.

It doesn't look like today is a good laundry day so it's off to the mall before getting down to those online images.

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

What a beautiful way to celebrate Canada's 141st birthday! The sun is shining here in St. Jacobs and people are out wandering around. The market was surprisingly quiet at 9:00 this morning, though the boys did spot someone going with racks of buns and bread and commented that someone was having a barbecue! Whatever you are doing to celebrate the day, do it safely.

July is off to a start with a bang here. With a large quantity of boxes expected this week we are moving things around today to make room for all of it. We still have some great deals in our Sidewalk Sale area, but they won't last long. Hannah added some stuff to it again yesterday.

Today also marks the start of our new promotion. You already know how friendly we are here. It's worth the drive just for that, but we've got added incentive for you. Not only do you get great prices on your summer scrapbook supplies (and more are arriving each week), but for every $25 you spend in the store (sorry, this one isn't available online) you will receive a ballot for a chance to win a $100 gas card. Should you win it, it's almost like we paid YOU to come visit us. If not, you've still had a chance to come enjoy our cool, sometimes downright cold, store, wander the village, pick up some baking and maybe have an ice cream cone. We have one other small condition - you must be a Canadian resident. You don't have to come in wearing red and white, but the gas card must be taken as awarded, and is not valid outside Canada. We don't like to put restrictions on things, but unfortunately we have to on this one.

I'll let you know later this week as the new stuff becomes available in store and online.